There is a local nature reserve near where I live called Millhoppers. It is owned by the Butteryfly Conservation society. I went out for a spin on the bike this afternoon and spend a little while taking in the nature there.
Whilst I sat contemplating I saw at least 3 (possibly 4) wrens, they were hunting for food, flying from tree to tree to flower stalk. The wren is the most populous bird in the UK and I guess it is not unexpected that I would see so many in such a small patch.
Also saw plenty of butterflies including common blue, they get Holly Blue’s in spring.
I have not updated the blog of a couple of weeks, not sure why but here you go I will make amends. This weekend Helen and I have been to Snettisham, for the weekend, we stayed at The Rose aand Crown a great pub with real ale and some rooms to stay in. The food is great. If you want to stay I would recommend the new rooms rather than the quirky ones up the stairs above the bar.
We arrived on Friday at lunchtime after having spent the night at Mum and Dads, (thanks for the roast veg and couscous lovely), and had lunch at the pub, before setting off for a bird walk.
Gall wasp
The walk was from Holme to Thornham, we parked in Thornham then got the Coast Hopper to the Holme coast road stop. Whilst walking up the coast road there were loads of plum trees of different types all of them very sweet and ripe. We headed off over the golf course and then along the board walks to The Firs for a break in the hide to wait out a rain shower. Then it was off again through the woods and out along the sea wall. There we saw loads of butterflies everywhere we spotted about 15 different varieties, including a few we had not see before. As we got back to Thornham we had great close up views of three marsh harriers and we saw what we think was a bank vole.
There is a track of the walk and bus journey here.
The plan was to walk from Salthouse, with the wind behind us, to Weybourne. Saw a seal in the sea but he did not hang around for long. Nothing much else to report so we headed into the center of Kelling, where we knew there was a tea shop. After coffee and cake headed back to the Quag via a conservation area. Helen spotted a Cuckoo. We passed what looked to be a weather/environment monitoring station. It had the usual wind monitors and slated cupboards that meteorologists use. There was also a parabolic shaped aerial (possibly microwave) pointing skyward, and a white box shaped instrument that made a strange whistle every 30 seconds. Further on we can across a load of Wheatear, Whimbrel, Stonechat, and a Mistle Thrush. Headed onto Weybourne to catch the bus to Cley NWT, for lunch.
Today, Sunday was glorious. After a night on the tiles at the Wool Pack pub in Stoke Mandeville,we managed to get up early. Headed out to the hills around Ivinghoe beacon. The atmosphere was really clear and the clouds were white and fluffy, great day for taking photos, which I did and you can see here.
Walked from the NT car park towards Incombe Hole (where a Ring Ouzel had been reported which we failed to find) , and saw Whitethroat and Willow Warbler, spring is definitely here. Went back to Helen’s folks for coffee and cake, then saw the start of the Grand Prix.
After the Grand Prix we headed out on the bikes to a small nature reserve nearby where there are lots of butterflies. Today we have seen Small White, Large White, Green Hairstreak, Peacock, Tortoise Shell, Spotted Wood, Brimstone, Orange Top, and Comma which is a good start to our butterfly list.
The Independent is running a promotion where you can get a butterfly chart. Goto http://www.independent.co.uk/promo-offers enter your details and a the promotion code BUTTERFLIES, and they will send you the chart.
